A click such as a mouse is generally used as an input device for office machines typically represented by computers. The combination of such a click with a display device enables the operator to carry out an interactive processing with respect to a machine. More specifically, the operator may operate a mouse cursor on the display device by operating a mouse at hand. The mouse cursor is moved according to the movement of the mouse as if the movement of the mouse is associated directly with the movement of the mouse cursor. This enables the operator to concentrate his attention on the screen of the display device.
FIG. 3 shows a method of moving a mouse cursor with the use of a mouse in a conventional document preparing system; FIG. 3(b) illustrates the movement of the mouse on a mouse input board 13, and FIG. 3(a) illustrates the corresponding movement of the mouse cursor on a display screen 9.
The moving amount of the mouse has no relation to time. For example, the movement of the mouse from a position 14 to a position 15, or from the position 15 to a position 16 is reflected, as it is, on the display device 9. Such movement is displayed as the movement of the mouse cursor from a position 10 to a position 11, or from the position 11 to a position 12. At this time, even though the mouse is moved from the position 15 to the position 16 at a speed higher than that at which the mouse is moved from the position 14 to the position 15, the movement of the mouse cursor from the position 11 to the position 12 is not carried out at a speed higher than that of the mouse cursor movement from the position 10 to the position 11. That is, regardless of the mouse moving amount, the mouse cursor is moved by an amount in which the mouse movement amount is multiplied by a constant. It is therefore difficult to efficiently achieve both fine and broad movements of the mouse.
More specifically, the mouse cursor moving method in a conventional document preparing system is of the linear type in which the movement of the mouse cursor on the display device corresponding to the mouse operation by the operator, is in function of only the amount of mouse movement on the mouse input board. Accordingly, it is difficult to closely reproduce the user's operation feeling that a fine operation is slowly made, while a rough operation is quickly made. This is particularly disadvantageous in a bit map display having a high resolution.